nyc’s new bars, day of the dead drinks and cocktails for a cure

In New York, Julie Reiner’s Lani Kai has opened, complete with Hawaiian fire pit and riffs on tropical tipples in categories such as “Spice and Tropical Tea” (including the Hawaiian Iced Tea made with Lili’uokalani black tea-infused orange vodka, mint tea syrup and lemon juice),and "Another Day in Paradise" (among them the Hotel California, made with dried-apricot-infused Old Tom Gin, Pisco, lime and pineapple juice, toasted almond orgeat and Peychaud’s bitters). There are "Old School" options (Mai Tais, Ti Punch), frozen concoctions, specials designed by mixologist pals, family-sized "Liquid Luaus" and more – here’s the menu.

Also in NYC, the Cocktail Collective (Richard Boccato of Dutch Kills, Contemporary Cocktails’ Willy Shine, Pernod Ricard’s Simon Ford, Misty Kalkofen of Boston’s Drink, John Lermayer of Miami’s Florida Room and Eric Alperin of L.A.’s Varnish) have combined to reopen the Royalton Hotel’s Forty Four as an homage to classic hotel bars. The menu is split into "Classics," such as the Singapore Sling and the Vieux Carre, and "Originals" worked up by the secretive six. Fresh juices, house-made ingredients, five kinds of ice and frozen glasses are other key components of the program.

For the fourth year, Washington, D.C.’s Oyamel Cocina Mexicana celebrates the Day of the Dead with three new cocktails — El Diablo Nuevo, made with Siembra Azul Reposado, house-made cassis, fresh lime and ginger beer air; the Sagrado Corazón, a Gimlet made with Herradura Blanco, cilantro and toasted coriander served over hibiscus ice sphere; and the Sangre y Fuego, a combination of Del Maguey Mezcal, house-made sangrita, Cherry Heering and Dolin sweet vermouth with burnt orange.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is offering Cocktails for a Cure in its seventh annual Red Ribbon campaign. Until World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Kimpton will offer three cocktails created by Jacques Bezuidenhout, with $1 donated to a local HIV service organization for each sold. Cocktails are the Rouge (Belvedere Vodka, Grand Marnier, Campari and fresh orange juice shaken with fresh raspberries); Ruby Red (Belvedere Pink Grapefruit Vodka, Lillet Blanc, fresh grapefruit juice and simple syrup muddled with ginger and sparked with club soda); and the VS Smash (Hennessy VS, Grand Marnier, 10-year-old Tawny Port and lemon juice muddled with pineapple and dusted with grated nutmeg).